After All
by Marymel
Summary: Greg and Jackson meet Sofia and talk about Morgan's ordeal. Some spoilers for 14x01!


**Jackson is my original character, but I don't own CSI.**

**Some mild spoilers!**

**I've always loved the friendship between Greg and Sofia. Since I wrote stories where Jackson, Greg and Sofia get together, I thought this would be fitting after the events in "Skin In The Game" and "The Devil And D.B. Russell." Hope you all enjoy...and pretty please review!**

Greg Sanders and his son Jackson arrived at a favorite restaurant to get dinner to take home to Morgan. It had been a week since her rescue, and things were slowly but surely getting back to normal. Morgan had some nightmares, and Jackson and Greg were there to help calm her down and comfort her. Greg was thankful to have Morgan back safe, but both regretted that Captain Brass' ex-wife Nancy was gone. Jackson knew something bad had happened, but Greg and Morgan tried to keep everything as normal as possible. Besides, the little boy was just happy to have his daddy and mama.

"Yeah, I called in an order for Sanders," Greg said as he and Jackson approached the counter. The hostess smiled and got their food. As Greg got out his wallet to pay, Jackson glanced toward the bar and saw a familiar face. He rushed over to the blonde woman before Greg could stop him.

Jackson tugged on the woman's jacket. Deputy Chief Sofia Curtis looked down and smiled at the red-haired boy. "Hi!" Jackson said.

Greg walked over to his son and friend. "Jacks, don't run off like that." He smiled at Sofia. "Hey."

"Hi," Sofia said with a soft laugh. "Good to see you again."

"You too. Sorry about..."

"Don't apologize!" Sofia assured him. Smiling at Jackson, she said, "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

"I good," Jackson said with a smile. "I getting some mac an' cheese!"

"You are? Well, that sounds good. I just finished some dinner."

"Did you have mac an' cheese too?"

Sofia smiled. "No, but I did have some pasta."

Greg smiled softly at the sight of his son and friend. "Yeah, we asked Morgan what she wanted for dinner, and she said eggplant parmesan, so we're here."

Sofia smiled sadly, knowing Morgan had been through hell and Greg had been so scared for her. "How is she?"

Greg sighed deeply. "As well as can be expected, I guess. After...everything..."

Sofia nodded as Greg trailed off. She had known Morgan since the CSI was a girl, and worried about both her and Ellie when everything happened. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jackson piped up. "Mama's home!"

"I know," Sofia said. She and Greg both smiled at the innocent child. "That's wonderful isn't it?"

"Yeah! Now we can read more Curious George, an' she makes me peanut butter sammiches wif bananas!"

Sofia's eyes widened as she smiled. "She does?" Jackson nodded and giggled. "Well, you've got two great parents!"

"I hab da bestest!" Jackson said as he smiled at his father. "My daddy an' me, we go on bug hunts, an' he stay wif me if I hab a bad dream, an' he eben lets me hab extra chocolate milk!"

"Wow!"

Greg smiled warmly at the son he adored. "You're the best son, Jacks."

"An' you da bestest daddy!" Jackson wrapped his arms around Greg's legs. Greg put down the bag of food he was holding and lifted his son in his arms. He smiled as Jackson wrapped his arms around him. "I love you, daddy!"

"I love you, Jacks."

Sofia smiled sadly as she watched the young man she watched grow as a CSI with his son. She sighed and looked away when she thought of Jim's relationship with his daughter.

Greg and Jackson pulled away and Jackson frowned slightly when he saw Sofia's expression. "You sad?"

Sofia looked at Jackson. "A little. A friend of mine lost someone very special to them, and I went to their funeral." Sofia had just gotten back from the lawyer's with Jim, going over Nancy's will.

"Captain Brass just got back," Greg said. "He told us that Morgan wasn't to blame for what happened."

"She's not!" Sofia assured him. "What happened to Nancy would have happened if another cop or CSI had gone in her place."

Greg nodded. Jim and Morgan had a long talk when the detective returned after his ex-wife's funeral, and Brass assured Morgan that Nancy's death wasn't her fault. Morgan felt more at peace, knowing that Brass didn't blame her.

"I sorry about your friend," Jackson said.

Sofia and Greg both smiled at the sweet boy. "Thank you," Sofia said. "It's very sad, but I'll get better."

"Yeah," Greg said softly.

Jackson thought for a moment. "Aunt Sofia, if your friend isn't here anymore, are dey in da sky? Dat's where my friend Eli's mommy say his daddy is."

"Eli is Warrick's son," Greg whispered.

Sofia smiled softly and nodded. "I think maybe she is."

Jackson smiled softly. "You an' your friend can keep her in your heart. Dat's where daddy an' Uncle Nick say dey keep Uncle Warrick."

Sofia couldn't help but smile at her friend's innocent son. "That's right. We can do that. And even though my friend misses her, he can keep her in his heart and remember her with love."

"Yeah," Greg said softly. "And whenever her friend gets sad, he can think about how much he loves her."

"An' eben dough he misses her, he can still think about her," Jackson said. He didn't know anything about Jim's strained relationship with his daughter...he just knew his friend was sad and he wanted to help them feel better.

Sofia hugged Greg and Jackson. "Yeah, he can."

Jackson smiled as he was sandwiched between his father and Sofia. "So your friend okay?" He asked as Sofia pulled away.

"He will be, sweetie," Sofia said with a warm smile. "You've helped me feel better."

"I did?"

"Yeah. I was so sad thinking about my friend, but you've helped me feel a little better."

Jackson squirmed out of Greg's arms and hugged Sofia. "Maybe if you tell your friend to keep them in their heart, dey won't be sad an' dey feel better."

"Maybe," Sofia said with a sad smile.

Greg smiled as he watched his son with his Aunt Sofia. "Well, we've got to get home. But I'm really glad we got to see you."

"Me too," Sofia said. "I'm glad Morgan's back..." she smiled at the red-headed boy smiling up at her. "...and I'm really glad I got to see you."

"I glad I got to see you!" Jackson said with a smile. "We gunna go home an' eat, so I can eat wif mama!"

"Will you tell her I said hi?"

"Okay!" Jackson happily said.

Greg and Sofia laughed softly. "Tell Brass I said hi."

Sofia gave Greg a thoughtful smile. "I will. And I'm glad he and Morgan talked."

"Daddy, I hungry!" Jackson said.

Greg smiled and took Jackson's hand. "Well, let's get dinner home to mama so we can eat."

Jackson took Greg's hand and smiled at Sofia. "Do you wanna come over again sometime an' have some sammiches again?"

Sofia smiled. "I'd like that. Maybe when your mama feels like it, we can get together for lunch sometime."

"Well, we have your number," Greg said. "Why don't we give you a call sometime?"

"Sure," Sofia said. Smiling at the little boy, she added, "Can we have some chocolate ice cream too?"

Jackson smiled widely. "Yeah!"

Sofia's smile widened. Just then, her cell phone rang with a text from Brass. "You know what, Jackson? This is my friend that I was just talking about."

Greg knew she was talking about Brass. "He okay?"

"Yeah, he wants me to meet him at his place." Smiling at Jackson, she said, "I'm going to tell him what you told me about keeping who he lost in his heart."

"Will it help him feel better?"

"I hope so, sweetie."

Jackson smiled. "If he feel better, maybe you can bring him to lunch for some sammiches wif us."

Sofia smiled. "Maybe. I'm going to head over there."

"Yeah, we've got to get home," Greg said. "But it was great to see you again."

"You too," Sofia said as she paid her check.

"I see you later, Aunt Sofia!" Jackson said happily. "An' I hope your friend feel better soon!"

"Thank you," Sofia said as they walked out of the restaurant together. As they left, Sofia watched Greg and Jackson chat about dinner and get in their car. She thought about Jim's relationship with Ellie, and how they would never get the chance to make amends. She knew Jim would eventually be okay, but it would be a long road.

And she knew Jackson, Greg, Morgan, and all Jim's family at the lab would help her help Jim.

**The End.**


End file.
